Détente is French for relaxation. Generally, it may be applied to any international situation where previously hostile nations not involved in an open war "warm up" to each other and threats de-escalate. However, today it has come primarily to refer to a general reduction in the tension between the Soviet Union and the United States and a weakening of the Cold War, occurring from the late 1960s until the start of the 1980s. It is this Soviet-American détente that is the subject of this article.
Détente - Causes ...
Détente began to unravel in 1979 due to a series of events. The Iranian Revolution and the subsequent hostage crisis embarrassed the United States and led much of the American public to believe their nation had lost its international power and prestige.
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to shore up a struggling allied regime led to harsh criticisms in the west and a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics, which were to be held in Moscow. American President Jimmy Carter boosted the U.S. defense budget and began to heavily subsid ...
Both sides had pressing reasons to seek relaxation in tensions. Leonid Brezhnev and the rest of the Soviet leadership felt that the economic burden of the nuclear arms race was unsustainable. The American economy was also in financial trouble as the Vietnam War drained government finances at the same time as Lyndon Johnson, and to a lesser extent Richard Nixon, sought to expand the government welfare state.
In Europe the Ostpolitik of Willy Brandt was decreasing tensions and the Soviets hoped that with Détente more trade with Western ...
The most obvious manifestation of Détente was the series of summits held between the leaders of the two superpowers and the treaties that resulted from these meetings. Earlier in the 1960s, before Détente the Partial Test Ban Treaty had been signed in 1963. Later in the decade the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Outer Space Treaty were two of the first elements of Détente. These earlier treaties did little to curb the superpower's abilities, however, and were mostly to limit the nuclear ambitions of th ...
